A massive fire that destroyed a vacant building located on the Trans-Canada Highway in Mill Bay on Friday is now being considered suspicious by the BC RCMP.
Mill Bay Fire Department confirmed at around 12:30 p.m. on May 27 that it had crews heading to the blaze at the boarded-up Pioneer Square mall on the highway near Shawnigan Lake-Mill Bay Road.
Witnesses in the area driving past saw heavy smoke coming from the structure as firefighters arrived. Flames could be seen shooting from the roof of the building.
Video shows flames shooting from the roof of Pioneer Square in Mill Bay. Drive BC says southbound TCH closed with no estimate for reopening due to fire. https://t.co/Y8XMs1FEgi pic.twitter.com/uszAyuVCEZ
— CHEK News (@CHEK_News) May 27, 2022
Deputy Chief Stephen Melanson, with the Mill Bay Fire Detachment, said about 50 firefighters from six different detachments responded to the fire.
He said crews were heavily on scene until 9:00 p.m., with some staying overnight to monitor hot spots.
After initially closing down southbound lanes of the highway, Emcon Services said at around 2:00 p.m. both northbound and southbound lanes were closed, essentially shutting down the route that connects southern to central Vancouver Island.
Drive BC confirmed at around 6:37 p.m. that both northbound and southbound lanes had reopened, while Shawnigan Lake-Mill Bay Road remained closed between the highway and Barry Road.
Melanson said there were no injuries and the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
“The power was all cut off so there should have been no ignition sources inside the building,” Melanson added.
After launching an initial investigation, RCMP says that it believes the fire was suspicious, however, officers haven’t been able to confirm if the act was arson or not.
Police say that they are looking for information and scouring over social media posts that could confirm if it was indeed arson or give investigators more insight.
The Mill Bay & District Conservation Society is concerned about what this fire means for a nearby creek that is heavily used during the Coho salmon run.
Secretary and director Ken Gray said about 7,000 spawners used the creek last year, adding millions of smolt could migrate towards the ocean every year.
Gray said the initial runoff from the fire would have run through the creek overnight, getting diluted by the current water levels. He stated it’s the debris that’s left at the fire scene that could pose an issue.
“We don’t know what’s left from the fire as far as contaminants and what went into the soil. Then what’s going to leach out of the soil with the rainstorms maybe this spring, and most definitely next fall,” Gray said.
According to the conservation society, anything including melted insulation, plastic and toxic fibres in the wood could pose a threat to the creek.
Gray said he’s been in contact with the Ministry of Environment, with the ministry telling him they will work with the landowners and clean-up crews to mitigate as much contamination as possible.
Anyone with information on the blaze is being asked to contact Shawnigan Lake RCMP at (250) 743-5514.
CHEK News
Mackenzie Read
